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Book S ^ V\ \ S 



AN ACCOUNT OF THE CEREMONIES 

... AT THE . . . 

Dedication of the Soldiers' Monument 

Bridgton. Maine. July 21, 1910 




CONTAINING ALSO THE 

Addresses Delivered on that Occasion 

. . . AND . . . 

Biographical Sketches 

. .. BY . . . 
PHIUP WILUS MdNTYRE 



a<^^' 



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FOREWORD 

N THE year 1761 the General Court of Mass- 
achusetts passed an act granting to Benjamin 
Milliken, Moody Bridges and Thomas Perley 
a tract of land in the then District of Maine, 
which tract was located "east of Saco River." 
Messrs. Milliken, Bridges and Perley were the agents and 
legal representatives of Captain John Tyler and tifty-six 
other soldiers and sailors who had served under Sir William 
Phipps in the so-called "King William's War" of 1690, in 
the course of which the French stronghold of Port Royal 
was carried by storm and Acadia temporarily conquered. 

The tract in question, which embraced about 37,000 
acres, was made into a township which was at lirst called 
Pondicherry — a name that in 1769 was changed to Bridgton, 
in honor of Mr. Bridges, one of the original grantees. The 
township was divided into eighty-six shares, of which sixty- 
one were held by the original proprietors, one was set apart 
for the support of the ministry, one for the first settled 
minister (the Reverend Nathan Church), one for Harvard 
College, one for the support of schools and one for the first 
settler in the township. 

This first settler was Captain Benjamin Kimball, a 
sailor man who came from Ipswich, Massachusetts, during 
the spring of 1768. In consideration of the share given to 
him. Captain Kimball bound himself to build "a convenient 
house of entertainment" and to "keep a store of goods." 
It does not appear that he fulfilled both of these conditions, 
for it was not until 1789 that the first tavern was built in 
Bridgton ; and this was put up by William Sears, of Bev- 
erly, Massachusetts, on the corner of the road opposite the 
present Bridgton House. 



In 1768 the proprietors of the township contracted with 
Jacob Stevens to build and keep in repair a sawmill and 
a cornmill, both of which he erected upon that outlet of 
Crotched Pond which has ever since been known as Stevens's 
Brook. In 1782 certain lots on the shore of Long Pond 
were allotted to those settlers who, by the greatest progress 
in clearings and buildings, were deemed to merit reward, 
and those lots have ever since been known as " The Merited 
Lots." It was at the same time arranged to build a public 
mill at the locality formerly known as "Pinhook." These 
early settlers could not foresee the big Pondicherry, Cum- 
berland and Forest woolen mills, and the various factories, 
foundries and machine shops that now give employment to 
skilled labor in Bridgton village. 

Bridgton was incorporated February 7, 1794, becoming 
the eighty-fifth incorporated town in the District of Maine. 
In 1805 that part of its territory which lies on the easterly 
side of Long Pond, comprising about 8,500 acres, was set 
off to form in part the new town of Harrison. In 1854 a 
tract of about 2,500 acres at the southwest corner of the 
town was set off to form a part of the new" town of Naples. 
In 1847, in order to restore Bridgton as far as possible to 
its former dimensions, there was acquired on the west, by 
annexations from the towns of Fryeburg and Denmark, a 
tract of about 3,500 acres — which tract was locally known 
as "Texas," the annexations having taken place soon after 
the close of the Mexican War, 

In a sketch of the part which the brave sons of Bridgton 
played during our Civil War it may not be amiss to men- 
tion an orgranization which flourished during " the fuss and 
feather" days of the ancient militia. This organization, 
formed in 1792, was the Bridgton Light Infantry, the 
members of which wore blue coats with red facings, white 
breeches and cocked hats with white favors. The officers 
of this redoubtable body were Captain Isaiah Ingalls, Lieu- 
tenant Robert Andrews and Ensign John Kilborn. Lineal 
descendants of these men wore the blue in the great Civil 



War which deluged the country with blood nearly seventy 
years later. 

EARLY BRIDGTON SOLDIERS 

Previous to 1792, in the War for Independence, men 
who afterward settled in Bridgton and played more or less 
important parts in the civic history of the new town wore 
the blue and buff of the Continental Army and served^under 
General George Washington. These men were Captains 
John Kilborn and Phineas Ingalls, Lieutenants John Hay- 
ward and Robert Andrews and privates Nathan Hale, Jacob 
Hazen, Stephen Gates, Asa Parker, David Clark, Ephraim 
Davenport, Joseph Kimball and Israel Ingalls, all of whom 
belonged to the "Massachusetts Line." 

In the War of 1812, which is somewhat grandiloquently 
called the "Second War for Independence," Bridgton con- 
tributed twenty-one men to Captain Rufus Mclntire's com- 
pany in the Third Regiment of United States Artillery — a 
regiment which was stationed at Sackett's Harbor, on Lake 
Ontario, under Major General Jacob Brown in 1813, which 
participated in the battle of Plattsburg and witnessed Com- 
modore Perry's brilliant victory on the lake. These men 
were Nathan Hilton, Nathan Dodge, Samuel Ingalls, John 
M. Fields, Enoch Frost, Robert D. Bisbee, George Fitch, 
Luther Carman, Aaron Bridgham, Daniel Perley, Nathaniel 
Martin, Jeremiah Hale, William Stevens, William Libby, 
Richard T. Smith, Samuel Andrews, John Kilborn, Uriah 
Gibbs, John Davenport, Amos Gould and Darius Long. 
During this same war Bridgton also sent to the navy Aaron 
Littlefield, Joseph Milliken and Henry Day. 

Descendants of some of these soldiers of 1775 and 
1812 fought under the stars and stripes from 1861 to 1865, 
and their names are to be found on Bridgton's muster rolls 
in the adjutant general's oflfice in Augusta. 



DAYS OF THE CIVIL WAR 

Bridgton was ever a loyal and patriotic town, and in 
the great uprising of the united North in 1861 unhesitatingly 
sent the flower of its youth to the front. No fewer than 
147 men enlisted before any draft was ever dreamed of. 
In response to the call of July 2, 1862, for 300,000 men to 
serve for three years, 228 volunteers went into the army ; 
and in answer to the call of August 4th for 300,000 nine- 
months men, 29 enlisted ; while in response to the call of 
January 1, 1863, for 100,000, six left their homes for the 
field of battle; under the call of October 17th for 500,000 
men, 68 enlisted, and under subsequent calls 67 volunteered. 

The total number of men that were furnished by this 
town in answer to these repeated calls upon the loyal sons 
of our country was 311, in addition to which, at least six 
residents of Bridgton are known to have served on the 
quota of other States. It is quite possible, too, that there 
were other residents of the town, temporarily absent from 
their homes, who entered the Union service and of whom 
no record can be found. Out of the 311 volunteers no less 
than 41 enlisted twice, in different Maine regiments, and 
three are known to have enlisted three times — that is, 44 
re-enlisted ; and this does not take into account the re-en- 
listments of three-years men whose first term of enlistment 
had expired. 

In 1861 Bridgton possessed a population of 2,556 and 
had 617 polls, which would seem to show that more than 
half of its voters enlisted. This, however, was not precisely 
the case, as some of the recruits were under the age of 
twenty-one. The town contributed volunteers to the First, 
Second, Fourth, Fifth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, 
Eleventh, Twelfth, Fourteenth, Fifteenth, Sixteenth, Sev- 
enteenth, Twentieth, Twenty-third, Twenty-fifth, Twenty- 
ninth, Thirtieth, Thirty-first and Thirty-second Infantry, 
the First Veteran Infantry, the First and Second Cavalry, 
the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Batteries, the 



regular army and navy, and to Massachusetts and New 
Hampshire regiments. 

Loyalty seemed to be a sort of family institution in 
Bridgton, for there were a number of cases where members 
of the same household went to the front ; and the names of 
close kinsmen are of frequent occurrence on the Bridgton 
muster rolls. Of five Bacon boys, two of them, brothers, 
were in the Twelfth Infantry in the same company ; the 
third of these brothers was in Company F of the Thirtieth. 
Of the other two Bacon boys, brothers, cousins to the first- 
named three, one served in the Twelfth and the other in 
the Twenty-third and Thirtieth. Two Burnham brothers 
enlisted in the same company of the same regiment — the 
Tenth. Of two Dodges, brothers, one served in the Eighth 
and one in the Twelfth. The son of one also served in the 
Thirtieth. Three Fitch brothers were in different regi- 
ments — the First, the Tenth and the Twelfth. Two 
Grover brothers were res[)ectively in the Twelfth and 
Thirtieth. Two Hamblen brothers were one in the 
Eleventh and the other in the Twelfth. Of four Har- 
mon brothers one was in the Fifth, one in the Eleventh, 
one in the Twelfth and one in the Fourteenth. Two Jewett 
brothers were respectively in the Twelfth and Thirtieth. 
Two Johnsons were in the Tenth and Twenty-ninth. Of 
four Kendall brothers, all of them served in the Twelfth. 
Of three Knights, father and two sons, two served in the 
First Battery, and one of the sons served in the First and 
Seventh Regiments of Infantry. Two Millikens, father and 
son, were in the same company of the Thirty-second Regi- 
ment. Three Pendexter brothers were in different regiments, 
the Ninth, the Eleventh and the Twenty-third. Two Quincy 
brothers were in the same company of the Ninth Regiment, 
one of them having previously served in the Twenty-third. 
Of three Riley brothers one was in the Twelfth, and two in 
the same company of the Twenty-ninth. Two Simpsons, 
father and son, served in different regiments. Two Stevens 
brothers served in Company F of the Thirtieth Infantry. 



Of two Warren brothers one was in the First Infantry and 
the other in the First Battery. Of six Webb brothers two 
were in the Tenth, one in the Twenty-ninth, one in both 
the Tenth and the Thirtieth, and two in the Thirtieth alone. 
Two Weymouth brothers were in the same company of the 
Tenth, and two Winn brothers served in different regiments. 

INCIDENTS OF RECRUITING DAYS 

Company E of the Twelfth Maine Infantry Regiment 
was recruited and organized in Bridgton, though a few of 
the men came from other towns. The company was first 
drilled in the Town House, but as soon as it had acquired 
any proficiency in the school of the soldier it took to drilling 
on the lot in front of that edifice, on the large lot directly 
across the street, which is locally known as the "Baptist 
meeting-house lot," and in the village square where, with 
fine propriety, the Soldiers' Monument has been erected. 
The captain of Company E was the late Enoch Knight, who 
was afterward a municipal judge in Portland, but who was 
at that time, 1861, editor of the Bridgton Reporter. 

The Reporter was started on the 2d of November, in 
the year 1858, by Samuel S. Noyes, of Nashua, New Hamp- 
shire, and was first edited by Charles Lamson, a native son 
of Bridgton. The next year it passed into the hands of 
Enoch Knight, who came from Lovell to take charge of it. 
When Captain Knight went to the war he was succeeded in 
the editorial chair by George Warren, of Gorham. In May, 
1862, the paper was purchased by Captain Horace C. Little, 
of Au])urn, who re-engaged Mr. Lamson as editor, but he, 
later in the year, was succeeded by Miss Lizzie Flye, of 
Denmark. In the fall of 1863 Augustus Phelps, of Bridg- 
ton, bought out Captain Little, changed the name of the 
paper to The Sentinel, made it Republican in politics, and 
engaged David Hale as editor. 

Mr. Hale, who was a member of the Twenty-third 
Maine, had returned from the front along with Captain Lit- 



lO 



tie, who also served in that regiment. In 1864 the Sentinel 
office was destroyed by tire, but the paper was issued as 
usual the next week with the startling display line on the 
first page : "Death to Copperheads and Incendiaries." Not 
long after the episode the Sentinel suspended publication 
for good and all. 

Many stirring incidents of recruiting days in Bridgton 
are still remembered by the older residents of that beautiful 
town. Of these the scenes when stout old Colonel John 
Webb from time to time took his six sons, one after the 
other, in his wagon and drove through the village streets 
down to Portland to see them enlist, are among those never 
to be forgotten. Whenever he returned from one of these 
trips and was asked if he did not hate to see the boys go, 
the old Colonel promptly replied: "No, sir; if I had half 
a dozen more I should wish them all to go." 

This spirit was shared by the great majority of the 
Bridgton folk who saw their loved ones go out from their 
homes to face possible death in defense of our country in 
her hour of danger, and most of the brave soldier boys took 
leave of their friends and families with smiles on their faces 
and words of hope and cheer upon their lips. The women 
were not one whit behind them in bravery, and when their 
fathers, and brothers, and husbands, and sons, and sweet- 
hearts had gone from them, it might be forever, they cour- 
ageously took up their several burdens of heartache and 
anxiety, and devoted their leisure time to helping along, in 
every possible way, the glorious work of the Sanitary and 
Christian Commissions. The girl or woman who had no 
one of her own at the front was eajjer to work for the dear 
ones of her neighbors, and selfish idleness was unknown in 
the Bridgton homes of that troublous time. 

The little boys who were too young to march south- 
ward along with their elders played at soldiering in the quiet 
streets, and lived in hopes that the war would continue long 
enough so that they might share the glory to be won on 
fields of battle, such as they heard read of in the newspapers 

II 



which were scanned with such eagerness every day, and 
with such dreadful apprehensions after every encounter 
between the opposing armies. 

THE INCEPTION OF THE SOLDIERS' MONUMENT 

Ever since the close of the war there had been a deeply 
cherished desire, on the part of the always loyal people of 
Bridgton, that a fitting memorial should be erected in rec- 
ognition of the patriotism of those brave men who rallied to 
the flag when danger menaced the country of which it is the 
emblem — men who ungrudgingly gave of their services, 
and many of whom lay down their lives, in order that the 
Union might not die. With profound gratification, there- 
fore, Bridgton learned that one of her sons, former Governor 
Henry Bradstreet Cleaves, had determined to make this 
desire of his old townsmen a concrete reality. 

HOW THE PLAN ORIGINATED 

A quarter of a century ago the Cleaves brothers, Nathan 
and Henry, formed the determination to some day present a 
Soldiers' Monument to their native town. They repeatedly 
talked over the project together, but settled upon no 
definite plan of action. Twenty years ago Judge Nathan 
Cleaves died, and with his death the subject of memorial 
was dropped for a time. The cherished purpose was, how- 
ever, by no means abandoned, and busy as Governor 
Cleaves's life has been he has never lost sight of the plan 
that he and his brother made together, in past days, nor did 
he ever falter in his decision that the wish so dear to his 
brother's heart should be carried out, — and now, after these 
long years, this monument stands as a tribute from the 
brothers to the living soldiers of Bridgton and to the mem- 
ory of the men whose deeds'and sacrifices it commemorates. 

Governor Cleaves notified the town authorities of his 
intention, and informed them that the Hallowell Granite 
Works had been commissioned to employ its most skillful 



12 



artisans in fashioning the noble shaft of Maine granite of 
which the community is now so justly proud. 

It was necessary, of course, that a suitable site should 
be prepared upon which to erect such a monument, and 
after full discussion, and careful consideration of several 
localities which were proposed, it was finally decided with 
great unanimity by the town that the little square at the 
head of Main Street (where the newly enlisted men were 
drilled in 1861) would be the most appropriate place. The 
matter of arranging for the dedication of the monument was 
entrusted to a committee of citizens, and for this purpose 
the following gentlemen were selected : Honorable A. H. 
Walker, Honorable Luther F. McKinney, D. Eugene Chap- 
lin, Honorable J. C. Mead and Cyril P. Spurr. Added to 
this committee was a special committee from Farragut Post, 
consisting of Doctor J. Louville Bennett, David C. Saun- 
ders, William H. Foster, Charles O. Stickney and Honor- 
able L. A. Poor. 

THE MORNING OF DEDICATION DAY 

The monument was set in place early in the month of 
July, 1910, and was dedicated on Thursday, the twenty-first. 
Early in the morning of that day Governor Cleaves and his 
invited guests arrived from Portland in motor cars, this 
special party consisting of the Governor himself. General 
Thomas H. Hubbard, of New York City, Major General 
Charles B. Hall, U. S. A., retired, Judge Clarence Hale, 
of the United States District Court, and Hon. F. E. Rich- 
ards, of Portland. Generals Hubbard and Hall were old 
companions in arms of Governor Cleaves, the three having 
served together in the Thirtieth Maine Volunteer Infantry 
during the Civil War. It is an interesting fact that more 
than thirty Bridgton soldiers served in General Hubbard's 
command, and these men received their old colonel with 
unbounded enthusiasm, their hearts stirred anew with mem- 
ories of camp and field, and the far-off days when they 

13 



braved death in Louisiana and Virginia under his gallant 
leadership. 

The morning train out of Portland on this July day 
was an unusually heavy one, the passengers being princi- 
pally those who were on their way to see, or participate in, 
the ceremonies attending the unveiling of the monument. 
One car was filled by a delegation, seventy-two strong, from 
Bosworth Post, G. A. R., headed by Commander James H. 
Taylor, and another contained the Cleaves Rifles, a company 
of sixty men, of the National Guard, the crack Westbrook 
company which was organized when Governor Cleaves was 
the chief executive of the State, and which was named in 
his honor. 

Other cars held sons and daughters of Bridgton, who 
took this occasion to revisit the town of their birth, together 
with many other men and women who were patriotically 
eager to witness the interesting ceremonies which were to 
take place in the well-known town. On its arrival the train 
was welcomed by the comrades of Farragut Post, No. 27, 
G. A. R., under the leadership of Past Commander David 
C. Saunders and Commander Granville M. Burnell, accom- 
panied by the Bridgton Band, Frank I. Cash, leader. The 
comrades of Farragut Post acted as escort for the comrades 
of Bosworth Post, both Posts being escorted by the Cleaves 
Rifles. Just as it was about to start, the procession was 
joined by Mayor Charles A. Strout, of Portland, and Mayor 
Harry F. G. Hay, of Westbrook, who came to Bridgton 
for the purpose of participating in the exercises of the day. 
The visiting Posts and troops were served with dinner by 
the Women's Relief Corps, G. A. R., at Red Men's Hall. 
The day was cloudless and beautiful, and everything seemed 
to unite to make the occasion the success that it so well 
deserved to be. 

THE AFTERNOON EXERCISES 

The exercises of the afternoon were held in the village 
square, at the intersection of High and Main Streets, one 

14 



of the most beautiful spots in the village — the place selected 
as the site of the monument ; and the wide porch of the 
Bridgton House was utilized as a platform for the speakers. 
The Grand Army Posts and the Cleaves Rifles were drawn 
up in front of the hotel in a hollow square, presenting an 
impressive appearance. The Secretary of the Reception 
Committee, D. Eugene Chaplin, had prepared a souvenir 
program of the exercises in the form of a folder, on one 
cover of which were a picture of the monument and portraits 
of Nathan and Henry B. Cleaves, the other cover bearing 
the national flag in colors and the names of the committee 
entrusted with the charge of the ceremony of dedication. 
The following is a program of the exercises : 

Music Band 

Prayer Rev. Stephen T. Livingston 

Pastor of the First Congregational Church 

Music Male Quartette 

Introduction D. Eugene Chaplin 

Presentation of Monument to the Town of Bridgton, 

Ex-Governor Henr>' B. Cleaves 

Acceptance for, and in Behalf of, the Town, Hon. Luther F. McKinney 

Music . . , Male Quartette 

Oration General Thomas H. Hubbard 

Music Band 

Dr. Livingston's invocation was as follows : 

Almighty God, ruler of all things, who art invisible yet everywhere 
present, we humbly acknowledge Thy majesty, and lift our hearts in 
profound gratitude for Thy love and mercy. Manifest Thy favor unto us, 
we beseech Thee, and make us conscious that in assembling here we are 
meeting with Thee. We rejoice in the privilege Thou hast granted us 
of living in this great land of hope. We thank Thee for the early chap- 
ters of its history, when strong men and noble-hearted women, prompted 
by devotion to freedom and righteousness, crossed a wide ocean and 
settled in the wilderness of a new continent. Under Thy protection they 
laid the foundations of this republic, and gave as a heritage to succeed- 
ing generations the larger purposes of life by which alone a nation can 
endure and perform its service in the advancement of the human race. 
More especially at this time our thoughts are turned to the period of civil 
Strife, when the forces of death wrought unspeakable desolation and the 

15 



destiny of the Union trembled in the balance. It is our privilege to ded- 
icate today a memorial in recognition of those who went forth from this 
place and offered their blood that the nation might live. Guide us, oh 
Lord God of our fathers, as we perform the appointed ceremony; and 
may the light of divine approval rest on Thy servant, who, in loving 
association with his brother, of revered memory, presents to the town of 
their youth this beautiful and enduring monument in honor of the living 
and in commemoration of the sacred dead, who made possible "one 
country, one destiny, one flag," for the people of Thy choice. We com- 
mend unto Thee also Thy servant who has come to deliver the message 
of high patriotism inspired by this occasion, and all who have part in 
these exercises. Grant Thy divine comradeship to the gray veterans of 
the Grand Army of the Repul^lic, occupying their well-deserved place of 
honor among us. Speak Thy word of command to the various compa- 
nies, carrying arms and banners, who represent a younger generation, 
and to all other organizations present. Bless the multitude here gath- 
ered; and in days to come, when we are gone, be Thou the Ciod and 
Father to our children and our children's children. When the question 
is asked, "What doth this stone mean, and wherefore these'inscriptions?" 
may the answer be returned with the same zest as today: "This is a 
perpetual witness of human gratitude^for the supreme sacrifice that was 
made, willingly and gladly, to save the nation in its day of peril." So 
may the best traditions of our land be handed down with ever increasing 
power as time advances. Oh God of battles, continue Thou to rule, and 
help us to remember that even when the scourge of war is over there are 
foes to meet and victories to be won. In the great conflict between the 
forces of evil and the forces of good, may the Lord of hosts be with us, 
may our trumpets give forth no uncertain sound, and may our sacred 
banners be always lifted. May it never be forgotten that righteousness 
exalteth a nation but sin is a reproach to any people. May wisdom from 
on high direct the President of our land, and the Governor of this State, 
and all who are entrusted with authority. Grant us true and fearless 
leaders, and keep us a united country. The Lord bless us, and keep us: 
the Lord make His face to shine upon us, and be gracious unto us: the 
Lord lift up His countenance upon us, and give us peace. In the name 
of the Prince of Peace. Amen. 

The chairman, D. Eugene Chaplin, Esq., after a musical 
selection, introduced the Gov^ernor, speaking as follows : 

Fellow Citizens: 

Your attendance here today, so general and in such numbers, both 
of the older generations and of the younger, indicates beyond peradven- 
ture that your hearts and minds, at this time, are freighted with that 
patriotic love and those sentiments which it is the object of these exer- 
cises to strengthen and to perpetuate in the hearts and minds of those 
who may come after us. 
• 

i6 




SOLDIERS' MONUMENT. BRIDGTON. MAINE 
DEDICATED JULY 21, 1910 



That love of country, bravery and sterling manhood displayed by 
those who, at the time of our nation's peril, at the call to arms, took 
their lives in their hands and went forth to secure, by the shedding of 
their blood when necessary, the privileges that we today enjoy, should 
never be forgotten, but should ever be remembered with increasing grat- 
itude as the years go by; and therefore it is but meet and proper that we 
of the present age of rush and strenuity should for a few brief moments 
turn from our usual vocations and entering the antechamber of time, and 
therein, by such exercises as these, forge a link in the chain of memory 
that shall the more securely bind the future to the past — that all-impor- 
tant past to us — but of which it is not for me at this time to speak to you. 

But it is for me at this time to rejoice with you, my fellow townsmen, 
that the many sons of this old town who at that time obeyed their coun- 
try's call were possessed of the virtues which I have mentioned, and that 
such fact is to be evidenced to future generations by the beautiful shaft 
now erected to their memory, and so soon to be entrusted to our keep- 
ing to pass on for such sacred purpose; and while it shall stand to the 
common memory of all, may it also ever be appreciated as faithfully 
typifying the noble characters and lives of its donors, characters as solid 
and fine-grained as the granite, Maine granite, from which it is cut; with 
the love of country and their fellow-men as deeply imbedded therein as 
is its foundation in the sub-soil of their native town; lives adorned with 
kind and generous acts, beautiful as the scroll-work upon its die and 
capital, and supporting over all as true a type of brave and perfect man- 
hood as the imperishable bronze which stands upon its top. 

As such, the one, the elder brother, lives in our memory today. 
As such, the other, by the blessing of God, has been spared to us and is 
now with us, and it is with much pleasure that I now present, as I need 
not introduce, him to you, our own son and benefactor, Ex-Governor 
Henry B. Cleaves. 

Although Ex-Governor Cleaves came promptly to the 
front of the platform at the conclusion of Mr. Chaplin's 
able and appropriate remarks, it was many minutes before 
he was allowed to proceed with his speech of presentation, 
so enthusiastic was the welcome accorded him. When at 
last the audience became silent he bestowed his gift upon 
his native town. 



ADDRESS OF PRESENTATION BY GOVERNOR CLEAVES 

Mr. Chairmati, Soldiers and Citizens, Ladies and Gentlemen : 

Nearly fifty years have elapsed since the great Civil War burst upon 
our country, in 1861. Political parties existed then, as they exist now, 
but when the first shot was fired upon Sumter party lines were obliter- 

17 



ated, all partisanship was banished and there reigned in its stead a united 
spirit of patriotism and loyalty to country, and a firm determination to 
resist the assault upon the nation's flag. 

When Abraham Lincoln issued his proclamation for seventy-five 
thousand troops, more than three hundred thousand volunteers answered 
the call; and there gathered the hope of the nation, ready for any emer- 
gency, prepared for any sacrifice. With what alacrity the brave men 
responded to the President's calls; they came in no hesitating or halting 
manner, but promptly, from a sense of duty, actuated by noble impulses 
and love of country. They came from almost every household in the 
North, and nearly every calling was represented in that patriotic band. 
They were guided by one purpose; they moved forward with the deter- 
mination in their hearts that this nation should never die, but that it 
should live; that the Union should be preserved; and their service was 
rendered for home, for country and for human liberty. 

It was a long and frightful struggle, but for a noble cause. It was 
waged on land and sea for the preservation of the constitution and the 
union of the States; the constitution under which our fathers lived; the 
constitution and the union for which the soldiers of Bridgton fought, and 
for which many of her sons died; a constitution that rightfully commands 
the allegiance of every State and of every citizen; and may no partisan, 
wild or visionary policies ever find lodgment in that great instrument, 
saved by four years of strife and sacrifice. 

The soldiers of Bridgton bore an honorable part in that great con- 
test. They were a part of that grand army of more than twenty-seven 
hundred thousand men who abandoned the pursuits of a peaceful life, 
who left home, family, kindred and friends, to uphold the honor and 
integrity of the nation amid the smoke and carnage of war. 

There are before me men who belonged to that great army, which 
for four long, weary years kept step to the patriotic music of the Union 
and bore the flag of our country on many contested fields. They waged 
war, not for the acquisition of new territor>', not for self-aggrandizement, 
nor to gratify personal ambitions, but for the preservation of the Ameri- 
can Republic. They strove that the nation might live; and when the 
roar of artillery had ceased, when the last hostile shot had been fired, 
and they came up from the field of Appomatox, bearing their tattered 
and war-worn flags, to pass in review at the capital of the nation they 
had saved, they gave to us a stronger and more enduring republic 
than had ever before been known; a republic saved by the power, the 
fortitude, the endurance and bravery of the American soldier and the 
American sailor. 

And after the lapse of so many years, let me recall the devotion of 
the resolute women of this land, who were constant in their allegiance, 
who never wavered in their loyalty to the great cause. They gave it 
force and strength; and, comrades, of little avail would have been the 
efforts of that historic army, but for the support and courage of the loyal 
ones at home, whose hopes and prayers were with the soldiers of the 
Union on every battlefield of the war. 

i8 



Many comrades there were who fell by the way; many there were 
who did not live to see triumph the cause for which they fought; but the 
service they rendered, the patriotism they exhibited, the sacrifices they 
made and the sufferings they endured, will always live and be cherished 
by the liberty-loving people of every enlightened government of the globe. 

The town of Bridgton was steadfast and unyielding in her support of 
the cause of the Union. She was intensely patriotic, and to every call 
upon her for more troops she promptly and proudly responded. With 
her soldiers she has always kept the faith. She not only gave encour- 
agement to those who were engaged in the conflict, but their families at 
home had her protecting care. And during more than a hundred years 
of corporate life, the history of the town of Bridgton has been one of 
honor and of fidelity to the cause of good government; and it may well 
be said, her people yield to no community in their advocacy of every 
good and worthy cause. 

Let us, on this occasion, pledge anew our devotion to the nation 
and its flag. Let us maintain the dignity, the honor and integrity of the 
State, and all of her just powers and rights, for here is the home of an 
advanced civilization and of good and intelligent citizenship. Let us be 
loyal to all of our institutions and to our respective communities, that 
they may prosper, advance and grow stronger; and placing principle 
and patriotism above partizanship, we shall be true to ourselves. 

It is appropriate that there should stand in this progressive commu- 
nity some testimonial to the valor and heroism of Bridgton' s sons, who, 
in the dark and gloomy hours of the nation's life, represented the 
advanced thought, the sturdy principles and the devoted and unselfish 
spirit of the women and men who then constituted this municipality. 

Recognizing this sentiment, this monument of granite and bronze, 
erected in honor of your living soldiers and in memory of your dead, is 
presented to the town of Bridgton. It belongs to her people. On this 
appropriate spot, so wisely and unanimously selected by her citizens, 
may it stand for all time, teaching its lessons of loyalty, of patriotism, of 
love of country, and of duty nobly and fearlessly performed. 

Mr. Chairman, gentlemen of the Board of Selectmen, and citizens of 
the town of Bridgton, I commit it to your custody and to your care. 

Amid prolonged and enthusiastic applause Governor 
Cleaves resumed his seat, and then followed the 



UNVEILING OF THE MONUMENT 

The unveiling of the beautiful work of art, which was 
the center of every one's thoughts on this occasion, was 
more symbolic than literal, as it was not fully covered by 
draperies of any kind, its noble proportions, appropriate 
design and artistic workmanship having been viewed with 

19 



deep appreciation by all present throughout the initial por- 
tion of the ceremonies. A large flag, closely rolled, was so 
arranged in the hands of the bronze statue of a soldier that 
crowns the summit of the monument, that the simple pulling 
of a cord would suffice to unfurl it and fling it to the breeze. 
Miss Alice Green, daughter of George S. Green, of the 
Sixteenth Maine Infantry Regiment, and one of the popular 
young ladies in the town, had been honored by being 
selected to perform this patriotic ofiice, and she carried out 
her part of the program with dignity and grace. 

As the tightly rolled bunting rippled out into a glorious 
splendor of stars and stripes — the insignia for which so 
many brave soldiers fought, and suffered, and died — the 
band on the instant began to play the inspiring strains of 
our national anthem, the "Star-spangled Banner," and the 
audience, which numbered over three thousand, broke into 
prolonged and heartfelt cheers. 

The monument consists of a shaft of the famous Hallo- 
well granite crowned with the bronze statue of a soldier, 
and is thirty-six feet in height. The base is eight feet 
square, and on this base rests a molded plinth which bears 
the following inscription: "Presented by Nathan and 
Henry B. Cleaves." The die above this plinth is provided 
with four raised panels, each suitably inscribed. On the 
front panel, which faces the east, is the inscription : 

To Bridgton's Sons 

Who Defended the Union 

1861-1865 

On the panel which looks toward the north the follow- 
ing words appear : 

One Country 

One Destiny 

One Flag 

On the west side is this sentence : 

They Strove That the Nation Might Live ; That Govern- 
ment OF THE People, by the People, for the People. Should 
Not Perish 



20 




Henry Bradstreet Cleaves, ises 




Thomas Hamlin Hubbard, ises 



The southern panel says : 
In Honor of the Living: In Grateful Memory of the Dead. 

Surmounting this die is a cap, around which runs a 
wreath of laurel in bold relief of beautiful design and finish. 
On the front of the shaft is a sculptured trophy, executed 
in alto relievo, suggesting the successful termination of the 
struggle which cost so many lives. This is typified by 
thirteen stars displayed above a gracefully draped stand of 
colors, at the foot of which is a pyramid of cannon balls. 
The capital of the shaft is richly carved, the faces each 
bearing a representation of an American eagle with out- 
stretched wings. This fine piece of sculptured stone con- 
stitutes a pedestal, upon the summit of which stands an 
heroic sized bronze figure of a soldier, in the act of drawing 
his sword in defense of the flag which he bears aloft. This 
figure is fifteen feet and six inches high from the capital to 
the top of the flagstaff, and is singularly lifelike in attitude, 
while the general effect upon the observer is impressive in 
the extreme. 

This splendid monument is designed to stand forever 
as an architectural ornament to the civic section of Bridgton 
and a perpetual inspiration to patriotic thought and deed, 
and it cannot fail to be a source of unalloyed pride to the 
people to whom it has been presented. Bridgton waited 
long for a soldiers' monument, but the one which has been 
bestowed upon her was well worth the waiting. 

THE ADDRESS OF ACCEPTANCE 

The address of acceptance, in behalf of the town of 
Bridgton, was made by the Honorable Luther F. McKin- 
ney, a veteran soldier who served for two years in the First 
Ohio Cavalry, who was afterward a member of Congress 
from the First District of New Hampshire, and who 
represented this government in the capacity of minister 
plenipotentiary to the Republic of Colombia during the 
administration of President Cleveland. Mr. McKinney, 

21 



whose speech was frequently interrupted by applause from 
his delighted audience, spoke as follows : 

Mr. Chairman aiid Citizens of the Town of BHdgton : 

I deem it a great honor that the citizens have conferred upon me in 
asking me to accept, on their behalf, this beautiful and imposing monu- 
ment. We are making history here today; for thousands of years the 
world has been making history; the events that have taken place are but 
a chapter in that history. The libraries of the world are full of the his- 
tories of nations, giving an account of their struggles for supremacy, of 
their efforts to better their conditions, of their advancement in civiliza- 
tion and of the downfall of nations once supreme. 

It seems strange to us as we read these histories that the advance- 
ment of civilization has always been accompanied by war. No great 
success has ever come to nations, either in their efforts for justice, or to 
maintain the freedom which God has conferred upon them in their crea- 
tion, or for the development of a better civilization, unless those nations 
have accomplished their purpose through war. If we go back to our 
earliest histories we find that the people of Israel only maintained their 
supremacy, under the many kings who ruled over them, by constant 
warfare with other peoples, and only lost their supremacy when they 
forgot the precepts given them by their fathers. 

Rome came to her supremacy by war, and was enabled to write laws 
for the world by the power of the sword. England, Germany, France, 
and all the great nations, have been enabled to write their names as great 
powers for civilization only through war. Japan, the wonder of the civi- 
lized world today, has only attained to be considered one of the great 
powers among the nations through the forces of her armies. Our own 
bright land, which, thank God, is at peace with all the world today, only 
laid the foundation of her liberties by the sword, and has since maintained 
her supremacy by the patriotism of her citizens on the field of battle. 

Though each war that we have been called upon to prosecute since 
the Revolution has been as a dark cloud hiding from our view, for a 
time, the peaceful light that has fallen upon the pathway of our pro.s- 
perity, yet, when the cloud has passed away, the light of progress has 
shone more brightly upon us as a people. The history of all these events 
has been written, but, too often, by pens that have been prejudiced. 
But the histories that endure, and that speak without prejudice, are writ- 
ten in granite and marble and bronze. Travel the world over and you 
will find in every land monuments reared in honor of the great men of 
the nations in both military and civil life. 

One may go to our National Capital, and, without visiting the libra- 
ries, read the history of the struggles of our people for universal liberty. 
The heroic figure of George Washington, in marble, near the Capitol, 
and the towering monument by the Potomac have to generations past, 
and will to all the generations to come, speak of the struggles of our 
fathers for liberty and justice. 

22 



The statue of John Marshall, at the base of Capitol Hill, speaks of 
the great mind that placed upon the constitution an interpretation that 
no legal lights have ever attempted to overthrow. The heroic statue of 
General Jackson speaks of the War of 1812 and the battle fought behind 
the cotton bales at New Orleans, which drove the enemy from our land 
and showed to the world the power of a free people. 

The statues of Scott and Taylor remind us of the Mexican War, with 
its territorial results and the renewed evidence of American patriotism. 
The statues of Grant, and Thomas, and Logan, and McPherson, and 
Garfield, and many others of our great generals, bring afresh to our 
minds the great struggle of '6i-'65, when human freedom, enunciated in 
the Declaration of Independence by our fathers, but which they failed to 
establish, became a fact; and the stain that had so long rested upon our 
fair land and liberty-loving people was wiped out forever. 

Not only in the North, but in the South as well, monuments have 
been placed to the memory of those who fought against us to maintain 
their constitutional rights, and because of their patriotism for their State 
and their institutions, and thus helped to emphasize the history of that 
great contest. 

These histories, thus written, are enduring and keep in the'minds of 
the people, as no written page can, the mighty struggles through which 
our fathers and brothers passed in order to establish and maintain our 
institutions, and will help them to shun such evils in the future; and 
generations yet unborn will learn lessons of value from them. In almost 
every city and town in our own land stand these silent witnesses to the 
patriotism of the American citizen. 

During the Civil War 2,235 battles, great and small, were fought; 
and there were killed in battle, or died from wounds, 245,000 men, a 
terrible fulfillment of the prophecy: "The sins of the fathers shall be 
visited upon the children to the third and fourth generations." How 
many homes were made desolate! How many wives and mothers were 
made to mourn! How many children ask in vain for the fathers they 
could but just remember! And yet, sad to say, no monuments are being 
reared to the memory of the thousands of noble women who struggled 
and prayed at home, or went with the army, cooling the fevered brow of 
the sick and wounded soldiers, ministering to them as angels of mercy, 
and by their loyalty and devotion helping to win the victor\' for right and 
justice. God bless the memory of their noble sacrifices, and may a 
grateful people do them justice. 

This was the darkest cloud that ever dimmed the light of our 
national glory, and yet it had its silver lining. Out from beneath that 
cloud has come a nation of united people. The men of the North and 
the men of the South have stood shoulder to shoulder on more recent 
fields, fighting for the freedom of the oppressed, and died cheering the 
flag so dear to every American heart, thus proclaiming to the^ world that 
we have one country, one flag, one destiny. 

Slavery is no longer a part of our institutions. Millions have been 
awakened to the glory of freedom and become useful citizens of a free 

23 



country. A new impetus has been given to our people, a new inspiration 
to press on to greater victories. The people of the South, who were 
slow to understand the opportunities that God had given them, were 
imbued with a new energy. The coal and iron mines that nature had 
placed beneath their feet, and that had so long lain dormant, have been 
opened up, and the blast furnace sheds its light upon the midnight sky; 
the cotton mill has sprung into being, and the noise of the loom is heard 
where before was heard the cry of the oppressed; from the earth's hid- 
den resources has come immense wealth to give employment and plenty 
to the multitudes. No people has ever been inspired with such energy* 
no people has ever attained such prosperity, as has come to us since the 
close of that conflict. 

Members of the Grand Army of the Republic: 

Every ton of coal and ore that has been dug from Southern soil was 
dug by you and your comrades on the field of battle; every ton of iron 
and steel that has gone forth from the South to enrich the world was 
made possible by your patriotism in the hour of our country's need. I 
am glad that so many of you are spared to be here today to iparticipate 
in writing in imperishable granile another page in the history of that con- 
flict. Your country gratefully remembers your services, and your com- 
rade here gives expression to your country's sentiments. Some say that 
we should forget. No ! we should never forget; we should never forget 
the day of our chastisement and sorrow. To remember makes more 
sweet the day of our reward. No individual or nation should ever forget 
the hour of punishment for their sins; to remember makes us more care- 
ful of the future. We should lay aside rancor and ill-will toward our 
opponents; they were our brothers, and we all suffered together for the 
sins of our fathers. Life is a warfare, and God grant that the American 
people may be as patriotic in fighting the more important battles of peace 
as they have been in fighting the battles on the field of conquest. 

Addressing Governor Cleaves, he said : 

And now, sir, it gives me great pleasure, on behalf of the citizens of 
your native town, to accept this monument from you, and not only from 
you but from your brother as well, who was beloved by all who knew 
him, and especially by the citizens of his native town. We rejoice that 
you have been able to consummate the purpose cherished by you both. 
We regret that his life was not spared to participate in these services, but 
our faith teaches us that he is with us in spirit and rejoices in all that is 
being done. Though he has passed from our mortal sight, he yet speaks 
to us. You honor yourself, sir, and we honor you, for placing his name 
beside your own. 

We accept this beautiful monument as a token of your patriotism for 
our beloved country. We accept it as a token of your love for your 
native town. We accept it as an expression of your remembrance of 
those who went forth with you, from this town, to defend the Union and 
the flag. We accept it as an expression of your desire to perpetuate in 

24 



the minds of the people the mighty struggle through which our nation 
passed to maintain intact what our fathers bequeathed to us. We accept 
it in the name of future generations, who, long after we have passed 
away, will stand here and recount the heroic deeds of their fathers, and 
pledge anew their allegiance to our institutions. As we accept it we 
pledge ourselves to protect and care for it, to defend it from the depre- 
dations of vandals and deliver it to those who come after us in as good 
condition as we receive it. With grateful hearts, we thank you, sir, for 
your noble and generous gift. 

Upon the close of Mr. McKirmey's address the quar- 
tette, consisting of Messrs. William M. Dunn, Charles F. 
Dunn, Abel C. Hinds and H. Elmer Seavey, rendered, in 
a most finished and delightful manner, an appropriate and 
inspiring vocal selection, after which General Thomas Ham- 
lin Hubbard was introduced by the chairman as the orator 
of the day. 

General Hubbard was adjutant of the Twenty-tifth 
Maine Infantry Regiment in 1862, and in the subsequent 
year, 1863, recruited, with General Francis Fessenden, who 
lost his leg in the Red River Expedition, the regiment 
known as the Thirtieth Maine Veteran Volunteers, in which 
Henry B. Cleaves was first lieutenant. A graduate of Bow- 
doin College in the class of 1857, General Hubbard's career 
since has reflected credit upon his college, his classmates 
and himself, and he has especially endeared himself to 
his Alma Mater and its graduates by the gift of the superb 
library building which bears the name of Hubbard Hall. 
General Hubbard was a brave and fearless soldier and always 
led his men in every conflict. His presence in Bridgton on 
the occasion of the presentation of the monument to the 
town had a peculiar, and even sentimental interest ; many 
who had formerly belonged to his two commands were 
among the audience who were to listen to his oration, and 
it is needless to say that the closest attention was given to 
every word that fell from his lips. General Hubbard said : 

Mr. Ouiirman, Governor Cleaves, Soldiers of the Civil War and of the 
War ivith Spain, Ladies and Gentlemen : 
The first word of greeting is due to you, surviving soldiers of the 
Civil War. You have the fortune, given to few of the living, to look 

25 



upon a monument built to commemorate yourselves and to hear words 
spoken in appreciation of your own past, already becoming historic. 

Time does not delay its processes even for Union soldiers of the 
Civil War. It has put the livery and the mask of age upon all of us. 
Yet those who campaigned with you still see in you the young men who 
marched and fought through the early sixties; who laughed at privation 
and danger; who conquered fatigue and who, with courage undisturbed, 
endured alike reverses and successes. 

Whatever may have been your later lot you can have done no better 
work than in the years from 1861 to 1865. That work will not end with 
your lives. It will go on so long as free institutions last and so long as 
endures the republic that you helped to maintain. In all the world-wide 
operations of our nation you will have a share. Without you and the 
armies of which you were a part, that nation would have ceased to be. 
Though the course of our republic is sometimes eccentric and though it 
seems at times to mark and to follow new orbits, yet we may confidently 
believe that its full career will repay the sacrifices that have been made 
to form it and maintain it. 

To the soldiers of the Cleaves Rifles and of the War with Spain is 
due a word of greeting and of thanks. 

In the long years of peace that followed the Civil War some said 
that patriotism was dead and that selfishness had usurped its place. The 
doubting and faint-hearted see best what is assertively displayed. 
The courage and self-devotion that always live in the hearts of the best 
citizens are less observed in civil than in military life. You have shown 
that now, as in 1776 and 1861, there are brave-hearted men, ready at a 
minute's call to hazard everything for their country's cause. You have 
shown that in time of peace, no less than in time of war, the same cour- 
age and loyalty e.xist that in the earlier years founded our government 
and preserved it. 

The name chosen for your organization is a symbol and an assurance 
of soldierly excellence and of civic distinction. You have associated that 
name and have identified your own record with a war that the severest 
moralist may sanction. It was a war to restrict the forces of oppression 
and to extend the boundaries of individual freedom. To those who 
volunteer for such a war, no less than to those who decry all wars that 
spring from selfish causes, the thanks of the nation are due. 

To all this patriotic audience and to all thoughtful Americans this 
occasion and its purpose should be of enduring interest. 

We meet near half a century after the Civil War has ended to dedi- 
cate a monument in commemoration of those Bridgton men who served 
as soldiers in the war to maintain the Union in its time of peril. 

The monument will stand as long as granite lasts and will be studied 
by men, women and children as long as this town is inhabited. Its site, 
the time of its erection, the personality of its givers are significant. If its 
purpose were only to pay tribute to personal worth and to record with 
sorrow dates of death, its proper place would be the cemetery. If such 

26 



were its only purpose its erection fifty years after the events it recalls 
would seem tardy. 

But it bears a message to posterity, and posterity for the soldiers of 
the Civil War is just beginning. Its message is not of sorrow but of pat- 
riotic precept. Its site is the public ground, where not mourners but all 
citizens will visit it. Its givers are jurists and a .soldier of the Civil War 
whose lives exemplified the lessons it imparts. 

A tribute to soldiers means respect for courage, endurance, hardships 
borne with fortitude, devotion of life to a cause deemed just. These are 
the attributes common to all volunteer soldiers. They should be com- 
mon to all good citizens, whether soldiers or civilians. They were pos- 
sessed by the soldiers of the Confederate, no less than by soldiers of the 
Union, armies. 

But monuments are not built to record common qualities, save as 
they are built by mourners and partial friends. 

A tribute to soldiers of the Union armies is indeed a mark of respect 
for the virtues common to brave soldiers and good citizens; but, beyond 
this, it is the recognition by the nation of a service rendered by no other 
than soldiers of the Union. The tributes men pay to admirable qualities 
should be measured by the merit of the cause in which those qualities 
are used. A policeman, at the risk of his life, stops a runaway horse to 
save the lives of children in its path or drawn by it. Another, at the 
same risk, stops a runaway whose path is clear and carriage empty. A 
swimmer risks his life to save a drowning man. Another risks his life to 
win a cup or a purse of dollars. To succor a family besieged, a plains- 
man rides through lines of Indian scouts where capture means death by 
torture. A plains bandit — a road agent — fights against hopeless odds 
and bravely meets certain death in resisting the law. Should monuments 
be raised or honors awarded alike to all these men, equally brave? 

In the Civil War, through the years iS6i to 1865, millions of men 
were under arms, fighting and killing and dying. Hundreds of thousands 
gave up their lives. One army fought to maintain the government of 
the United States. The other army fought to destroy it, but to preserve 
institutions of its separate States. Does any credit or discredit attach to 
the cause for which each army fought ? Are both to be honored alike if 
they were alike brave and devoted and sincere in belief that their cause 
was just? 

The government whose life was in issue was not the growth of a 
day. Many see in its progress the manifest will of God. Its beginnings 
were with men of different races and creeds. All the antagonism 
involved in varied nationality and opposed religious doctrines seemed 
enlisted to keep the colonies asunder. 

English Cavaliers were prominent in the settlement of Virginia; 
English Puritans in Massachusetts; English Roman Catholics in Mary- 
land; English Friends, or Quakers, in Pennsylvania. New Hampshire 
was first occupied by seceders from the neighboring colonies. The set- 
tlement of Rhode Island and Connecticut was due to doctrinal differ- 
ences among the colonists of Massachu.setts. New Vork was first settled 

27 



by the Dutch. New Jersey had Swedes for colonists. Delaware had 
Swedes and Finns. The Carolinas and Georgia were settled under 
grants to English nobles and with a considerable population from France 
and Germany. 

The conflicts due to such differences of race, religion and education 
and to undetermined borders and overlapping land grants were many 
and protracted. Opposed to these dispersing forces were the need of 
combined resistance to Indian attacks; the need of union for self-protec- 
tion in the French and Indian Wars; the need of union to maintain what 
was deemed to be colonial right against encroachments of the home 
nation and to preserve that independence for which the colonists had 
crossed the ocean. 

Though the forces for alliance between the colonies proved stronger 
than the forces for separation, more than a century passed before alliance 
began to prevail. It was in 1607 when Jamestown and 1620 when Plym- 
outh was begun. It was in 1752 when Benjamin Franklin first advocated 
in print a union of the colonies It was 1754 when commissioners from 
.several of the colonies, including Virginia and all colonies north of it, 
met at Albany to consider the suggestion of Doctor Franklin and others. 
And then the welding of the colonies into a nation went on through thirty 
years of varying struggles, disappointments, failure and success. 

This occasion permits only a reference to the dates of incidents that 
mark critical points in those struggles; but the mere dates will recall to 
students of history the vast labors and the illuminated minds that wrought 
the Union of our States. Each incident is subject for a separate history. 
Each deserves the study of every thoughtful citizen. 

It was 1773 and 1774 when Franklin suggested and Virginia urged a 
Continental Congress. It was September, 1774, when that Congress first 
met at Philadelphia. It was July 4, 1776, when the successor of that 
Congress announced in the Declaration of Independence that "all men 
are created equal " and that "governments derive their just powers from 
the consent of the governed." It was in 1777, while the colonial army 
was, with pain, maintaining that declaration, that the Continental Con- 
gress adopted the "Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union." It 
was during the session of this Congress, held under these articles, sitting, 
as the theater of war changed, now at Philadelphia; now at Baltimore, 
Lancaster, York, Princeton, Annapolis, Trenton or New York, that the 
War of the Revolution was fought and, against all human chances, was 
won by the fragmentary armies of the colonies. It was in September, 
1786, after the war had ended, that delegates from five of the States, 
meeting at Annapolis to promote commercial interests, recommended 
the calling of another convention of the States. It was in June, 1787, 
that delegates from the States met in convention at Philadelphia, at the 
call of Virginia, to amend the faulty articles of confederation. It was 
September 17, 1787, when that convention finished its work and sub- 
mitted to Congress, for transmission to the several States for their action, 
the constitution under which our government existed in i860 and under 
which it still exists. It was April 30, 1789, when George Washington 

28 



qualified as first President of the United States under that constitution 
and our government commenced its career. 

That career was checked in i860 and would] have been then ended 
but for the soldiers of Bridgton and the volunteer soldiers like them 
throughout the North. 

In i860 thirty-four States composed the Union. On the 14th of 
December, i860, Senators and Representatives in Congress from nine 
of the Southern States sent from Washington City a manifesto to their 
constituents at home. It runs as follows: "The argument is exhausted. 
All hope of relief in the Union, through the agency of committees, con- 
gressional legislation or constitutional amendments, is extinguished and 
we trust that the South will not be deceived by appearances, or the pre- 
tense of new guarantees. In our judgment the Republicans are resolute 
in the purpose to grant nothing that will, or ought to, satisfy the South. 
We are satisfied the honor, safety and independence of the Southern 
people require the organization of a Southern Confederacy — a result to 
be obtained only by separate State secession; — that the primary object 
of each slave-holding State ought to be its speedy and absolute separa- 
tion from the union with hostile States." 

Six days later, on the 20th of December, i860, a State Convention of 
South Carolina passed, at Charleston, by unanimous vote, an ordinance 
that runs as follows: 

"An ordinance to dissolve the Union between the State of South 
Carolina and the other States united with her under the compact enti- 
tled, 'The Constitution of the United States of America.' We, the peo- 
ple of the State of South Carolina, in convention assembled, do declare 
and ordain, and it is hereby declared and ordained, that the ordinance 
adopted by us in convention on the 23d day of May in the year of our 
Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-eight, whereby the consti- 
tution of the United States was ratified, and also all acts and parts of 
acts of the General Assembly of this State ratifying amendments of 
the said constitution are hereby repealed and that the Union now sub- 
sisting between South Carolina and the other States under the name of 
the United States of America is hereby dissolved." 

The public signing of this ordinance was performed on the same day 
and the presiding officer of the convention announced: "The ordinance 
of secession has been signed and ratified and I proclaim the State of 
South Carolina an Independent Commonwealth." 

Proceedings like those of South Carolina were taken in six other 
States in quick succession. Mississippi adopted her ordinance of seces- 
sion January 9, 1861; Florida, January loth; Alabama, January nth; 
Georgia, January 19th; Louisiana, January 26th; Texas, February ist. 
Delegates equal in number to their Senators and Representatives in the 
United States Congress were appointed by the several conventions 
adopting the ordinances and these delegates, meeting at Montgomery, 
Alabama, on the 4th of Februarj', 1861, proceeded to organize a South- 
em Confederacy. A project of government was perfected on February 
8, 1861, and the name of the Confederate States of America was adopted. 

29 



On February 9th Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, was elected Presi- 
dent and Alexander H. Stephens, of Georgia, Vice President of the new 
Confederacy. A permanent constitution for the Confederate States was 
adopted March 11, 1861. Mr. Davis was one of the signers of the.Wash- 
ington City Manifesto of December 14, i860. When choice could no 
longer be deferred four other States joined the Confederacy. Arkansas 
adopted her ordinance of secession May 6, 1861; North Carolina, May 
20th; Virginia, May 23d; Tennesee, June 8th. Thus eleven of the thirty- 
four States had declared the Union dissolved. Of the other twenty-three, 
four were slave-holding and were classed as border States. In those and 
in many more northerly States a considerable part of the people favored, 
or did not disapprove, the secession movement. 

The purposes of those who guided this movement have been forcibly 
stated by themselves. The State of Mississippi spoke through her con- 
vention in a "Declaration of the immediate causes which induce and 
iu.stify the secession of the State of Mississippi from the Federal Union." 
"Our position," so runs the declaration, "is thoroughly identified with 
the institution of slavery — the greatest material interest in the world. 
. . . A blow at slavery is a blow at commerce and civilization. That 
blow has been long aimed at the institution and was at the point of reach- 
ing its consummation. There was no choice left us but submission to 
the mandates of abolition or a dissolution of the Union whose principles 
had been subverted to work out our ruin. We must either submit to 
degradation and loss of property worth four billions of money, or we 
must secede from the Union." 

Mr. Alexander H. Stephens, the able and thoughtful Vice President 
of the Confederacy, in a speech made at Savannah in 1861, said: "The 
new constitution has put at rest forever all the agitating questions relating 
to our peculiar institution, African slavery, as it exists amongst us. . . . 
This was the immediate cause of the late rupture and present revolution. 
. . . The prevailing ideas entertained by him [Jefferson] and most of 
the leading statesmen at the time of the formation of the old constitution 
were that the enslavement of the African was in violation of the laws of 
nature, that it was wrong in principle, socially, morally and politically. 
. . . Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite ideas. 
Its foundations are laid and its corner stone rests upon the great truth 
that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery — subordination 
to the superior race — is his natural and normal condition. Thus our new 
government is the first in the history of the world based upon this great 
physical, philosophical and moral truth." 

The issues thus drawn and to which eleven of the States became 
directly committed could be determined only by the force of arms. On 
the 15th of April, 1861, the day next following the capture and evacuation 
of Fort Sumter, President Lincoln issued a call for seventy-five thousand 
militia of the several States, to suppress combinations too powerful to be 
suppressed by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings or by the 
powers ve,sted in the marshals by law. And then commenced the war in 
which for four years vast armies of brave men contended. On the one 

30 



side they fought to maintain the government of the United States as it 
then existed. On the other side they fought to destroy that government. 

To both is due the honor that belongs to brave men who stake their 
lives in a contest they believe to be right. But to the memory of each 
must always be attached the merit or demerit of the cause for which they 
fought. In his second inaugural address, President Lincoln said: "Both 
parties deprecated war; but one of them would make war rather than let 
the nation survive and the other would accept war rather than let it 
perish. And the war came. . . . Neither of the parties expected 
for the war the magnitude or the duration which it has already attained. 
. . . Each looked for an easier triumph and a result less fundamental 
and astounding. Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God 
and each invokes His aid against the other. . . . The prayers of 
both could not be answered — that of neither has been answered fully." 

The fact that great and wise men at great sacrifice founded the 
Union should not have saved it from destruction if it deserved to be 
destroyed. Was it worth four years of war, with its hardships, sorrows 
and losses; was it worth three hundred and fifty thousand young lives to 
maintain the government of the United States? Are the men who 
volunteered to maintain it entitled to perpetual and especial honor and 
commemoration ? 

If any answer "No," they confound the government with the 
administrations that temporarily perform the processes of government. 
These do not always fulfill the expectations of the party that has chosen 
them. They never get, or perhaps deserve, the approval of all parties. 
Sometimes they are overweighted by the responsibilities of office. Often 
they are inflated with its consequence. Those who think the best admin- 
istration is that which ministers to real and not to imaginary needs cen- 
sure officials because they try to do too much. Those who think that 
every petty ailment should be cured by the enactment of a new law, or 
the rediscovery of an obsolete one, censure officials because they do too 
little. 

It is no doubt true that the continuance of any particular adminis- 
tration is not sufficient cause for war. 

No really sane citizen would contend that it would have been worth 
a war to continue the administration of President Hayes, or of President 
Arthur, or of President Cleveland, or of President Harrison, or of Presi- 
dent McKinley, or of President Roosevelt, or that it would be worth a 
war to continue the administration of President Taft, provided these 
administrations might have ended, or might end, without disrupting the 
government, or might be superseded by any other administration that 
would preserve the continuity of government. The continuance of a 
particular administration relates to the personality of officials. 

Every sane citizen would deem it worth a war to continue each and 
all of these administrations in the exercise of all the rights and powers 
conferred upon them by the ballots of the people in accordance with the 
constitution and the laws, and until they should be superseded in accord- 
ance with law . Such continuance involves the principles of government. 

31 



It is not to depreciate any one of these administrations, but to 
emphasize the difference between the processes of government and the 
essence of government that we should always keep in mind the truth that 
individual officials quickly pass, while governments and the principles o 
government endure. In the United States administrations are overturned 
peaceably by ballot. The government can never be overturned while its 
citizens as volunteer soldiers will fight to maintain it. 

The government of the United States had in i860 and still has prom- 
ises for its citizens and for the whole human race that no administration 
has yet been able fully to make good. It still rests upon the proposition 
that all men are created equal and gives, to all who deserve it, the oppor- 
tunity to continue as they are created. It still asserts th^ right of every 
citizen to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and gives to each, 
according to his ability, the chance to achieve happiness. It still declares 
that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the 
governed and makes officials the agents of its citizens, not their masters. 
It forbids the grant by the United States of titles of nobility and elimi- 
nates the fatal doctrine of heredity, prevailing in earlier republics, where- 
by weak men are accorded rights of precedence because their remote 
ancestors were strong, and whereby "some acknowledged pre-eminence 
founded on hereditary succession and on nothing else may be handed on 
from generation to generation." 

These promises may some day be perfectly performed, when educa- 
tion has done its best work with all citizens of the republic, whether in 
office or out of office. And then men may advance to that social condi- 
tion, coveted and sought but never yet attained, where order prevails 
because none wish disorder; where laws are few because few are needed; 
where conduct is ruled by law and not by caprice; where law is not the 
arbitrary will of a superior imposed on an inferior, but is the agreement 
of enlightened and honorable men adopted by all for a beneficent rule of 
conduct by all; where no man need obey any master but the law and the 
law is the impartial master of every man. 

To maintain the government of the United States was to keep open 
the avenue for such advance, for which men have struggled from the 
beginning of the world. To destroy the government was to close the 
avenue; halt the progress of the world; turn the advance of civilization 
into disheartening retreat. 

No monument can be too enduring to commemorate the men who 
gave or risked their lives to maintain such a government. It is the cause 
they served that gives to Union soldiers especial right to honor and to 
grateful remembrance. Others may share with them the respect that is 
due to personal worth; to courage; to endurance; to sincere devotion to 
a cause deemed worth the risk of life. None can divide with them the 
good fortune of maintaining the government that offered and still offers 
the greatest hope for individual independence. 

Sentimentalists misconceive the nature of the stupendous struggle 
called the Civil War. They treat it like a street brawl where good 
fellows after a fight shake hands and forget all about it. They fail to 

32 



11 



recognize the truth spoken by a distinguished Confederate soldier, that 
the same person may consistently condemn secession and slavery and do 
honor to the Southern soldier. One says: "The time is near at hand 
when all hatreds of soldiers on either side will be buried" and "all 
wrongs, real or imaginary, should be forgiven and forgotten by all our 
people." Such utterances assume that soldiers served and fought 
because they were angry, or hated each other. In the Union armies, 
surely, and no doubt in the Confederate, the contrary was true. Men 
went into battle cool and often laughing and joking. They were ready 
to do a kindness to a captured or wounded opponent. But they went to 
battle to fight and die for a^principle and a cause whose emblem was the 
stars and stripes. 

And the message of this monument to all posterity is that the main- 
tenance of the constitution and laws as framed by our ancestors and not 
as unwise experimenters would re/rame them is worth the lives of all 
citizens and that maintenance of these depends on citizens ready to vol- 
unteer and to fight for them. Law is the true rule of conduct, and arms 
must uphold the law. 

Bridgton acted on this motto in the perilous years. More than half 
her voting population and nearly all qualified by age and health entered 
the volunteer army. They served in three-quarters of the forty-odd mili- 
tary organizations of the State of Maine. They camped and marched 
and fought wherever Union armies moved through the four years of the 
war. The patriotism of the town is shown by the fortitude of the boys 
and men who went and of the parents and wives and sisters who perforce 
remained at home. 

The muster rolls show instances where two, three, four and five of 
the same family served at the same time and where father and son are 
found in the same company or regiment. The mother of classic memory 
who gave her son his shield and told him to bring it back as a victor or 
come back upon it was a prototype of the Bridgton father who, when 
asked if he did not hate to have all his six sons enlist answered, " No, sir, 
if I had half a dozen more I should wish them all to go." 

One of Bridgton's men whom, while still living, this monument com- 
memorates is my friend and fellow-soldier. Governor Cleaves. It is his 
good fortune to present to you, and yours to receive from him, this last- 
ing memorial. He wisely and affectionately joins with his own name, as 
donor, the name of his admirable brother, like himself devoted to and 
distinguished in the profession of the law. For the monument is a mes- 
sage to all who see it that the perpetuation of the government rests upon 
the maintenance of the law by those works in civil life and in the military 
service so finely exemplified in the lives of both those brothers. 

In contemplating the progress and the results of the Civil War the 
contribution of no individual soldier should be overlooked. Every one 
of the Bridgton men who served in the Union armies has equal right to 
the grateful remembrance of those who enjoy the benefits of the vindi- 
cated government. Critics indeed may ask what avail the efforts of one 
man who can neither swerve nor stay the movements of massed columns 

33 



and vast armies. And in the same way critics may ask what avails the 
conduct or misconduct of one man in the vast processes of the universe. 

When we consider its appalling grandeur and contrast with its 
immensity our own littleness, we are oppressed with the thought that 
what men may do or may leave undone is of equal worthlessness. 
Beyond our little planet is the sun. Beyond our sun are other suns we 
call fixed stars, centers of other planetary systems. Beyond these are 
other stars viewless from distance. Mind cannot compass, or conceive, 
the point where these cease to be and beyond which there is nothing. 
What impress upon this limitless universe can the good or evil acts of 
man effect ? Can he hasten or delay the courses of stars ? 

But the destiny of the universe is in the keeping of the awful power 
that controls it. 

Our place has been assigned upon this minor planet where our days 
are spent. Our actions, good or bad, do make impress upon the lives 
of those who dwell here with us and do afTect their happiness or misery. 
If throughout the universe each insignificant unit could act upon the 
thought that what it does or leaves undone can be of no effect, disorder 
would wreck the universe. But if each does the little thing worth doing 
the rule of the universe is co-operation and harmony, effected by the 
little acts that seem, each by itself, so vain. 

And so with the duties of the soldier. Though the army be millions 
and the actions of one man seem trifling, yet if each should act upon this 
thought disorder would wreck the force. But if each man does the 
things assigned to him co-operation and harmony become the rule. 
Every soldier who went faithfully through the duties of the day from 
reveille to taps and of the night from taps to reveille, though his duties 
may have been mechanical and thankless, was shaping the result that, 
in 1865, secured, as we believe, the perpetual endurance of the United 
States of America. 

The oration of General Hubbard, which was received 
with loud and long-continued applause, closed the formal 
exercises of the afternoon as far as public remarks were 
concerned, and music from the quartette and band ended 
the program. After this the members of the Bridgton 
Improvement Society, which is composed of some of the 
most enterprising and public-spirited men of the town, took 
the Governor's party and invited guests in motor cars for a 
delightful ride over the smooth and well-kept roads, through 
the beautiful and picturesque region which lies about the 
village. Few towns in Maine, it may be remarked in pass- 
ing, equal and none surpass Bridgton in scenic attractions, 
as all visitors to that charmed spot can testify ; and the 

34 



opportunity to enjoy views of the different localities was 
thoroughly appreciated by the recipients of the courtesy of 
the Improvement Society. 

IN THE EVENING 

The event of the evening was a complimentary dinner 
given at the Bridgton House, by the Improvement Society, 
to Governor Cleaves and a large number of invited guests. 
More than a hundred persons, including Judge Walker, 
Perley P. Burnham, Luther F. McKinney, D. Eugene 
Chaplin, Frank P. Davis, and other prominent citizens of 
the town, sat down to the elegantly appointed tables. At 
the speakers' table were seated, besides Governor Cleaves, 
Mayor Frederick W. Plaisted, of Augusta, William M. 
Pennell, of Brunswick, Sheriff Melville W. Trefethen, of 
South Portland, George W. Norton, of Portland, Asher C. 
Hinds, William W. Mason and Willis E. Marriner, the 
president of the society. In a few felicitous remarks Mr. 
Marriner introduced Governor Cleaves as the guest of 
honor, and amid deafening applause that gentleman rose to 
his feet and said : 

I feel perfectly at home in your presence and thank you for this cor- 
dial greeting. This expression from my old friends and neighbors and 
the young men of Bridgton, whose fathers I knew so well, is much appre- 
ciated. I have always taken a deep interest in the town of Bridgton. I 
entertain the highest respect and affection for the good old town that has 
gone on amid the storms of more than a century, prospering and advanc- 
ing; and^^my regard for her interests, her welfare and the prosperity of 
her people is still unabated. 

I am not only gratified to meet here this evening the citizens of 
Bridgton, but it is a pleasure to meet the distinguished citizens of the 
State who have favored the town by their presence. You have with you 
tonight gentlemen occupying high official stations; gentlemen who are 
before the people as candidates for high official positions; all of whom 
you and I will be delighted to hear; all of whom are loyal citizens of the 
State, and devoted with us to her interests, her progress and the welfare 
of her people. 

The Governor said he was pleased to meet the repre- 
sentative men of the town who were interested in her prog- 

35 



re83 and her growth, men who believe in this community 
and in her people. Continuing he said : 

While Bridgton is distinctively an agricultural and manufacturing 
community, you are developing it as an attractive summer resort. These 
great industries walk side by side in developing and building up commu- 
nities. With your manufacturing, your agricultural, commercial and 
mercantile interests, your excellent transportation facilities, your grand 
mountain views and lakes, your beautiful scenery and attractive homes, 
your institutions of learning and grand system of common schools, and 
with a live and progressive people, no one need have any misgivings as 
to the future of the good old town of Bridgton. 

The speech of the Governor was marked by as much 
brevity as sincerity, and every word of it was treasured by 
his hearers, who loyally testified their appreciation. 

At this juncture Toastmaster Marriner read a telegram 
from Governor Fernald, who, being unable to be present in 
person, sent his earnest regards and hearty congratulations 
to the town of Bridgton for the gift which had been 
bestowed upon it. 

Mayor Plaisted, of Augusta, was then introduced and 
spoke as follows : 

I bring you a most cordial greeting from Augusta, and I assure you 
that our citizens, every man, woman and child of them, honor your dis- 
tinguished son, Governor Henry B. Cleaves. Such ceremonies as we 
have witnessed today are an inspiration. I inherited my love for Nathan 
Cleaves from my father. I was privileged to know him when I was a 
young man. His life was an open book, and there was not a blot on any 
page. Why should we not tonight say kindly words of congratulation to 
Governor Cleaves ? These services today were intended to honor the 
dead, but they at the same time have ennobled the living. That beauti- 
ful monument teaches to the young an impressive lesson of patriotism. 
The Civil War was fought by our boys; their average age was but twenty- 
two years. If one man by his death could have saved the nation what a 
heroic figure that man would have been ! Yet every one who gave his 
life is entitled to as much honor, for he gave his all. Their sacrifices 
have become a part of our inheritance. As today is better than yester- 
day, so will tomorrow be better than today; and this government, which 
in the past has shown itself equal to any emergency, will endure through- 
out the future. You and Bridgton are acting well your part. I congrat- 
ulate you on what you have done and what you are doing. Believe in 
Maine, in the power of her undeveloped rivers and the advantages of her 
splendid seacoast! Believe in Maine, men of Bridgton, and you will be 
good citizens, not only of your own State, but of the nation. 

36 



Asher C. Hinds was next introduced by Mr. Marriner 
and said : 

The soldiers of the Civil War lived in a time of g:real good fortune. 
The soldiers of other wars for liberty have often seen their work undone 
during their lifetime. The soldiers of Cromwell, who followed him in 
his famous battles, lived to parade in London when the English people 
welcomed back the son of the king they had dethroned and the leader of 
the aristocracy which they had overthrown. The republican soldiers 
of France, after overthrowing their oppressors and following the greatest 
military chief of the age, lived to be spurned and despised by the people 
of reactionary France. Soldiers of our Civil War have seen the liberty 
which they preserved enjoyed by their posterity, and the nation which 
they saved come to such prosperity that we are sometimes even tired of it. 

The soldiers of our Civil War have been also fortunate in the enjoy- 
ment of a high civilization and great social advantages. The soldiers of 
Daniel Morgan's famous corps of Virginian riflemen, who had gladdened 
Washington's heart on Cambridge Common, marched through the woods 
of Maine and fought at Quebec and Saratoga, were able to hold but two 
reunions. They were poor, communication was difficult, travel was 
costly and laborious. They met once, twenty-five years later, then they 
parted forever. Our soldiers, living in a land of wealth, of railroads and 
steamboats, have held their reunions every year, have kept up the old 
wartime spirit, and have enjoyed the comradeship of one another as the 
great pleasure of their lives. 

In the Revolutionary War the soldiers of Maine distinguished them- 
selves greatly. They had among them famous soldiers and sailors — the 
Prebles, Commodore Tucker, and that magnificent chief of artillery who 
had been Washington's great friend and supporter. General Henry Knox. 
Yet with all those traditions of glory there was not erected, so far as we 
know, in their time, a single memorial of their valor. Today you have 
unveiled in this beautiful village a meniorial durable and artistic, the 
princely gift of two brothers who left a farm in your town to win reputa- 
tion, esteem and a competency in the city. I call it a competency merely, 
in these days of great fortunes, but it is more magnificent than would 
have been thought of in Maine in the simple and poor days after the 
Revolution. 

Such a memorial as this is possible because the soldiers of the Civil 
War saved a nation that has become great and rich beyond all former 
dreams of national magnificence. Our civilization comes high, as far as 
prices are concerned — sometimes we think too high — and yet the insti- 
tutions under which we live, and the industrial development thereunder, 
give us the wherewithal to pay the price. 

Mr. William M. Pennell, when called upon by the 

toastmaster, responded in these words : 

Mr. Toastmaster and Gentlemen : — I esteem it a privilege to partici- 
pate in these exercises, to share with you in honoring the benefactor of 

37 



this village and join with you in paying just homage to a distinguished 
and worthy son of this town. It is fortunate for this community that his 
interest in its welfare never flags, and that by this act of patriotic gener- 
osity the oncoming generations of this town will have ever before them 
a constant reminder of the great fact that men were willing, if need be, 
to die for their country and for what they deemed to be the right. 

We are reminded on occasions like these that patriotism is not a 
mere phrase — it means something. It means the giving up of the dearest 
and best. It means giving up husband and father, brother and son. It 
means the sacrifice of life itself. As we look back we are amazed at the 
spontaneous outpouring of young lives in the cause of the country. We 
can with diflficulty conceive that the hearts and minds of the people could 
be so stirred, that thousands went forth to so suffer and to die; yet these 
monuments, scattered far and wide over the country, testify with mute 
forcefulness to this solemn truth. 

While we are honoring the memories of those who passed away dur- 
ing and since that great struggle, and are paying our tributes of respect 
to those who survive, it is well for us to cherish the thought that the 
same spirit of patriotism is alive, though perhaps dormant, in the present 
generation. Patriotism may slumber, it may require some great, throb- 
bing, stirring question to arouse it; but when the test shall come the 
boys of today will be as the boys of '6i. Unconsciously we rely upon 
this spirit in all our national aflfairs. We can reckon with certainty that 
the smouldering spark will burst into flame at the country's call. May 
we always have good cause for this faith within us! May the spirit of 
patriotism ever be cherished and nurtured, and may our country's cause 
ever be so just that in her days of need she may depend on her loyal 
sons as she depended on the volunteers of i86r. 

George W. Norton responded to the call of the toast- 
master and said : 

Mr. Toastmaster : — It is a special pleasure for me to offer my con- 
gratulations to the Bridgton Board of Trade on this occasion, to note the 
growth of public spirit in this beautiful town of yours, a town where many 
of the happiest years of my life were spent. The memory of those years 
has been a source of purest enjoyment to me in the busy years that have 
passed since I ceased to be a resident of Bridgton. In memory I have 
recalled your streets, your hills, your lakes, and the faces that were dear 
to me then and have ever since been dear to me, many a time in the 
stress of life's work, and they have always brought me an inspiration. 
For it was here that I came fresh from home and school and made my 
first entrance into the world of men. 

I recall now the pride which we all took then in the names of the 
men who had done distinguished public service who claimed Bridgton as 
their home, and I remember too that none stood higher then, nor do any 
now, than the two brothers who have honored their native town today, 
and in whose honor we are met tonight. Our Maine towns, like this 

38 




9^^l^^^^:^^i^ <^5^^^s-^^^^ 



town of Bridgton, have earned a debt of gratitude from State and nation 
for the character and ablility of the boys they have trained, and none 
have done better than did dear old Bridgton in giving to the world 
Nathan and Henry B. Cleaves. I congratulate you that his service to 
the world is recognized both abroad and at home. 

I am amused as I recall that here in Bridgton I began and closed my 
career as a public speaker, and I must tell you how it happened. I see 
before me the faces of some who will recall the event. At the end of my 
first year as a teacher in your grammar school, we held in the Universa- 
list Church here what we were pleased to call promotion exercises — 
public exercises not unlike graduations. The boys and girls from the 
highest class read their essays, or spoke their pieces, just as graduates 
do; had class history and class prophecies, and went through the formula 
of graduating without the conferring of any diplomas. And after the 
exercises were through it seemed to me to devolve upon the teacher to 
say a few words to the assembled populace. 

Nothing loth, I went at my task with a good will and was getting 
along swimmingly, as I firmly believed, when Orrin Thompson's little 
dog, Mars, many of you remember him, hearing my familiar voice as he 
trotted by in the street, concluded to make a call upon me, and in 
he came, into church, bustled up the aisle, mounted the platform, and 
greeted me after the fashion which to h is dogship .seemed most approved. 
It was fun for Mars, it tickled the people, but it was tough on me. I 
closed my speech with what grace I could, and concluded from that day 
not again to make an eftort at public speaking. 

That is why I am not making a speech tonight. What efforts I have 
made toward educating the public, from that day to this, have been with 
my pen rather than with my voice. But I am glad of an opportunity to 
express my pleasure at the great success of this day's proceedings, and 
to pay my tribute to Bridgton and to her distinguished sons. 

Mr. E. C. Milliken, when called upon by the master 
of ceremonies, said : 

This day has been to me one of the most enjoyable of my whole 
life, because it is the culmination of the hopes of years that I might see 
erected in this, my native village, a Soldiers' Monument to commemorate 
the services of the men of Bridgton in the great Civil War; tinged also 
with sadness that my poor old father, a lifelong resident of this town, 
could not have been permitted to live to see this day so long looked for- 
ward to by him. 

The generous donor of this monument, whom I am permitted to call 
my friend, many years ago honored me with a confidence that he intended, 
some time in the future, to present to his native town a Soldiers' Monu- 
ment in behalf of himself and his honored brother, now deceased. Ever 
since I have looked forward to this day with fond anticipations. It has 
been my good fortune to have seen nearly every Soldiers' Monument in 

39 



Maine, and also many in other States, and it can be truly said that 
Bridgton has as beautiful and appropriate a monument as any town or 
city in this country. 

This day brings to me a flood of recollections of the days of the war 
—especially the earlier days before I enlisted. I think I personally knew 
every man who enlisted during the first years of that struggle. I remem- 
ber well when the men enlisted in the first half-dozen regiments sent 
from Maine. How we looked upon them as heroes! Then when Enoch 
Knight, at that time editor of the Bridgton Reporter, raised his company 
for the Twefth Maine, recruited as it was from Bridgton, Sweden and 
Lovell, and they began drilling in the old Town House under a drill ser- 
geant who had come up from Portland to instruct them. When they had 
learned "to march sideways in two straight rows," as they termed it, 
they came out on the street and the space being limited they came down 
High Street to the square, where the monument is now located. There 
were no trees there then, all the trees having been set out years after. 

I remember well how, as a barefooted boy, I came up on the "hill," 
as we called it, to watch them drill; and as they marched back and forth 
we boys would gravitate back and forward between Dixey Stone's store, 
which stood where the corner of this hotel now stands and just where 
the dedicatory exercises took place, and the post office, kept by S. M. 
Hayden in his drug store, where Frank Webb's store now is. Not a 
movement escaped our boyish eyes as we saw them march away. As 
the later regiments were raised the sons of Bridgton responded to every 
call. The next large number that went forward was when our honored 
friend, and a large number of others, enlisted in the Twenty-third Regi- 
ment. Then the Twenty-ninth and Thirtieth each took a large number; 
and, in fact, under every call Bridgton furnished its full quota. 

It can be truthfully said that no town in Maine, or any other State, 
furnished a larger proportion of its citizens able for, and liable to, military 
duty than did the town of Bridgton. It was always a loyal and patriotic 
town, and while it is true that there were a few who entertained copper- 
head sentiments, they very early learned that they would not be allowed 
to express them publicly. 

Bridgton should certainly be proud of the beautiful monument pre- 
sented to it today, and should ever be grateful to the loyal son of Bridg- 
ton who presented it, and should care for and cherish it thiough all the 
coming years. 

I am deeply grateful for this opportunity to participate in this most 
enjoyable banquet and to say a word of the days of Old Lang Syne. 

Following Mr. Milliken, brief and pertinent speeches 
were made by Colonel A. C. Drink water, of Braintree, 
Massachusetts, a former resident of Bridgton, Honorable 
Luther F. KcKinney and others. 

40 



THE CLEAVIi:S FAMILY 

Nathan and Henry Bradstreet Cleaves came from a par- 
entage which is noteworthy in the history of Bridgton, one 
of the earliest settlers of the town having been Benjamin 
Cleaves, who with his uncle, Enoch Perley, came with other 
pioneers from Beverly, Massachusetts, in the last third of 
the eighteenth century. Benjamin's wife, Susan (Wood- 
bury) Cleaves, was also a native of Bridgton, and Mr. and 
Mrs. Cleaves settled in what is now known as "Hio Dis- 
trict," and there on the 18th of June, 1799, their son 
Thomas was born. 

Thomas Cleaves lived for a while on the ancestral farm, 
subsequently moving to Bridgton Center, to the homestead 
that remained for more than fifty years in the possession of 
the Cleaves family, where he died on the 3d of March, 1881. 

The wife of Thomas Cleaves was Sophia Bradstreet, 
whose father, Daniel Bradstreet, a lineal descendant of Sam- 
uel Bradstreet who was prominent in Colonial history, came 
from Raleigh, Massachusetts, in the early days of the Bridg- 
ton settlement. Thomas Cleaves and Sophia Bradstreet 
were married December 27, 1827. They were both mem- 
bers of the First Congregational Church of Bridgton and 
intimately connected with the history and progress of the 
town. She died September 16, 1882, aged seventy-seven 
years. This lovely woman's death was sudden but calm, a 
fitting ending of a long and noble life. The mother of Mrs. 
Thomas Cleaves was a sister of the Revolutionary patriot, 
Lieutenant Robert Andrews, who after settling in Bridgton 
was a lieutenant of the Bridgton Light Infantry, a military 
company which was organized in 1792. 

Thomas Cleaves was a man of great energy and of strict 
integrity, which qualities he bequeathed to his descendants. 
He was an active and always prominent and influential citi- 
zen, and saw long service in the affairs of the town. For 
nine years he was one of the Selectmen, five years succes- 
Bively from 1838, twice in the SO's and twice in the 60's, 



41 



besides which he represented Bridgton in the historic Legis- 
lature of 1851, which placed upon the statute books the 
world-famous Maine Liquor Law. 

Of the children of Thomas and Sophia (Bradstreet) 
Cleaves, the youngest and only daughter, Mary Sophia 
Cleaves, was born in Bridgton and enjoyed the superior 
educational advantages of that town, which has been noted 
for its advanced position in the cause of education. She 
was a successful teacher in the schools of Bridgton for 
several years ; was a member of the First Congregational 
Church and always took a deep interest and prominent part 
in the social and religious welfare of the community. She 
resided .at Bridgton with her parents until their decease, 
when she removed to Portland. She married William W. 
Mason, president of the Portland National Bank, son of the 
late Honorable Jeremiah M. Mason, of Limerick. Mrs. 
Mason is a person of rare intellectual gifts, nobleness of 
character, of engaging manner and endears herself to all. 

The eldest son was Robert Andrews Cleaves, who was 
born in Bridgton July 6, 1832. He was educated in the 
common schools of his native town and attended North 
Bridgton Acudemy. He resided in Bridgton until the time 
of his death, March 14, 1909. He was for many years 
employed in mercantile pursuits, being one of the prominent 
merchants of the town, identified with Bridgton's growth 
and prosperity, and always took a deep interest in every 
worthy and progressive movement that would advance the 
interests of the town and the welfare of her people. He 
left an honorable record and a delightful memory. 

The second son, Nathan, who was born on the 9th of 
January, 1835, was graduated from Bowdoin College in 
the class of 1858, among his classmates being Francis Fes- 
senden, Jonathan P. Cilley, Edward Bowdoin Nealley, 
Franklin M. Drew and Ellis Spear. All these "boys" are 
noteworthy in the history of the State and the nation, and 
Nathan Cleaves was certainly not the least remarkable one 
in this distinguished group of soldiers and men of affairs. 

42 



K 




iMMliSSUMJHaMi 




Immediately after his graduation Nathan Cleaves began 
the study of law with the firm of Joseph Howard and Sewall 
C. Strout, of Portland, and was admitted to the Cumberland 
County Bar in the year 1861. He opened an office in Bow- 
doinham, Maine, and soon after removed to Portland and 
formed a partnership with Lorenzo D. M. Sweat, and this 
partnership being dissolved by the election of Mr. Sweat to 
Congress, he formed another with Judge Howard, and later 
formed a law partnership with his brother, Henry B. Cleaves. 
He resided in Portland until the time of his death. In 1869 
he was elected City Solicitor, and two years later, though 
he was a pronounced Democrat in a strong Republican city, 
his appreciative fellow citizens sent him to the State Legis- 
lature, to which bod}^ he was again elected in 1875. 

In the Centennial year of 1876 Mr. Cleaves was chosen 
Judge of Probate, and discharged the delicate and responsi- 
ble duties of that office with distinct credit to himself and to 
the general satisfaction of every one who was brought into 
relations with that tribunal. In 1884 the Democrats of the 
First District nominated him as their candidate for Congress, 
and he came within a few hundred votes of defeating his 
Republican opponent, Thomas B. Reed, who was then in 
the very Hush of his fame. In 1887 President Cleveland 
appointed Judge Cleaves Surveyor of the Customs Port of 
Falmouth and Portland. 

Judge Cleaves was an accomplished lawyer, a public- 
spirited citizen, a faithful official, and a man who deserved 
and won great personal popularity. He was connected with 
many business enterprises and corporations, and a director 
in manj^ of the banking and financial institutions of the 
State. He actively practised law for a period of more than 
thirty years and obtained i)rominence in the profession he 
loved. 

The Cumberland County Bar, at a meeting which was 
held soon after the death of Judge Cleaves, September 5, 
1892, adopted the following memorial resolution : 

43 



II 



Resolved, That the members of the Cumberland Bar have heard, 
with a deep sense of personal grief and loss, the news of the sudden 
illness and death of their distinguished associate member, Honorable 
Nathan Cleaves, at the very summit of his professional career; that his 
contemporaries at the Bar during their lives will cherish the memory of 
his unfailing courtesy, his dignity of professional bearing and demeanor, 
his pure life and character, his eminent legal attainments, his fine train- 
ing and capacity in all matters pertaining to his profession, his exception- 
ally good forensic judgment, tact and skill, and the rare and excellent 
traits and qualities of his mind and heart; and, cherishing the memory of 
him ourselves, we write also this brief memorial of him, that they who 
come after us in the profession, to a late posterity, may remember him 
as one of the ornaments and models of his own time. 

In speaking of this resolution, Judge Symonds said : 
" It is seldom that the Bar has been so affected as by the 
death of Nathan Cleaves. For a long time he had been with 
us, one of us ; he was standing by our side, in our very 
midst — we looked up, and he was gone. The good man, 
whose life had become knit with ours by long memories 
and all fond associations, at the meridian of his intellectual 
faculties, in the robes of his profession and in the midst of 
his heaviest responsibilities and obligations, lay dead at his 
post. He who had labored without rest to bring the best 
fruitage of life to its harvest had fallen in his place when 
the boughs hung heaviest, when his work needed him most ; 
had passed and was still amid the ripe wealth of autumn. 
The sickle still gleamed in the harvest iield, fallen from the 
reaper's hand. In the sunlight rustled still the ripened and 
ripening grain, which no hand now shall ever gather into 
sheaves. All was as it had been, but his work was done. 
All was as before, but another companionship, prized and 
held dear, the charm of one old friendship more, had disap- 
peared from our lives." 

The third son, Thomas Perley Cleaves, was born in 
Bridgton January 7, 1838. He was educated in the com- 
mon and high schools of Bridgton and vicinity and at 
Oxford Normal Institute, South Paris, Maine. Adopting 
the law as his profession, he entered the office of Honorable 
Edward Fox and Frederick Fox, of Portland, and was 
admitted to the bar in 1859. He opened an office in Brown- 
field, Maine, and early took high rank in his profession. 
He has held many positions of public trust. 

44 



In 1862 Mr. Cleaves was elected Assistant Secretary 
of the Senate of Maine, and re-elected in 1863-64. In 
1865 he was elected Secretary of that body and continued 
in oflfice by successive elections for five years. He was 
elected Senator from Oxford County, serving two terms. 

Recognizing his ability and high standing. Honorable 
Lot M. Morrill, Senator from Maine, selected him as Chief 
Clerk of the Appropriation Committee of the United States 
Senate, and Mr. Cleaves and his family removed to Wash- 
ington. Through all the successive changes in the Senate 
of the United States, Mr. Cleaves continued to serve in this 
responsible position up to the time of his death, August 10, 
1910, and was closely associated with the late Senator Allison, 
of Iowa, Senator Hale, of Maine, and other distinguished 
senators who have served on this important committee. 

The fourth son, Henry Bradstreet Cleaves, was born 
on the 6th of February in the year 1840. He acquired his 
early education in the common schools of his native town 
and in the Lewiston Falls and Bridgton Academies. In 
1862 he enlisted as a private in Company B of the Twenty- 
third Maine Infantry Regiment, Colonel William Wirt Vir- 
gin, and served with honor until the regiment was mustered 
out. Upon the expiration of this regiment's service, young 
Cleaves re-enlisted for three years under Colonel Francis 
Fessenden, who was recruiting a veteran regiment for active 
service at the front, and was commissioned first lieutenant 
in Company F, Thirtieth Maine Veterans, of which regiment 
Thomas Hamlin Hubbard was lieutenant colonel. While 
serving in the Department of the Gulf, Lieutenant Cleaves 
actively participated in the various engagements of the Red 
River Expedition, under General Nathaniel P. Banks, and 
subsequently took part in the battles of Mansfield, Pleasant 
Hill and Cane River Crossing. 

At the close of the campaign in Louisiana the regiment 
was ordered to Virginia, where Lieutenant Cleaves served 
throughout the remainder of the war in the Army of the 
Potomac and under General Sheridan in the Shenandoah 



45 



Valley. So creditable was bis record, and so soldierly the 
aptitude whicb be evinced, that Secretary of War Stanton 
offered him a commission in the regular army, which offer, 
however, he declined. At the close of the war he returned 
to Bridgton, where for a time he was occupied in agricul- 
tural pursuits, lumbering and the study of law. 

In the month of September, 1868, Lieutenant Cleaves 
was admitted to the bar and practised in Bath one year, 
then removing to Portland and forming a law partnership 
with his brother, the late Judge Nathan Cleaves. 

He achieved distinction in politics as well as in law. 
He served two terms as a representative to the Legislature 
from the city of Portland, being Chairman of the Judiciary 
Committee, In 1877 he was elected City Solicitor of Port- 
land and conducted many important cases for the munici- 
pality during his two terms of office. In 1880 he was 
chosen Attorney General of the State, to which important 
office he was twice re-elected, serving for a period of five 
successive years. During his incumbency he was engaged 
in the prosecution of more than twenty capital cases and 
of many important State tax cases against the railroads, 
insurance and express companies, which were carried to a 
successful termination. 

In the month of June, 1892, Mr. Cleaves received the 
high compliment of a unanimous nomination by the Repub- 
lican party for Governor of his native State, and was elected 
in the September following by a substantial majority. His 
election was in a way a special personal tribute to him as a 
man, because his Democratic opponent was Honorable 
Charles F. Johnson, one of the most popular Democrats in 
the State and recently elected United States Senator. In 
1894 Governor Cleaves was re-elected by nearly forty 
thousand majority, being the greatest majority which, up 
to that time, had been received by a gubernatorial candidate 
in Maine. 

His inaugural addresses to the Legislature were regarded 
as among the ablest ever delivered in Maine, and received 

40 



the universal commendation of the press and people. He 
came to the position fully equipped by experience in public 
affairs and his was a most popular and successful adminis- 
tration. In the performance of official duties the interests 
of the State were always foremost, and during his terms of 
office he omitted no proper opportunity in all his public 
addresses to eulogize the State of Maine and her people. 

Though Governor Cleaves has made a memorable rec- 
ord in everthing that he has ever attempted — particularly 
distinguishing himself as Attorney General — it is as chief 
executive of the State that he has most endeared himself to 
the people of Maine. In that high office he displayed mod- 
eration, fairness and sagacity, earning the respect of his 
political opponents as well as the plaudits of hia party 
friends. An able, honest, fearless and conscientious magis- 
trate, his name stands high on the honorable roll of the 
Governors of Maine. 

At the close of his administration as Governor the Leg- 
islature, irrespective of party, accorded to him an unusual 
distinction, passing the following resolution in recognition 
of his distinguished service to the State : 
STATE OF MAINE 

House ok Representatives, 

January 7, 1897. 

Voicing the sentiments of the people and press of Maine, the House 
of Representatives desires to place on record its recognition of the dis- 
tinguished services rendered by the retiring Governor; therefore, 

Resolved, That we extend to Honorable Henry B. Cleaves, who has 
guided the Ship of State for four years, our recognition of his honorable 
service. Faithful to every trust, diligent in the performance of all public 
duties, devoted to the interests of the whole State, he has met every 
emergency and given to the people of Maine an upright, honest and dig- 
nified administration. 

He retires from the high office he has so ably and faithfully filled 
with the confidence, respect and aflfection of the whole people. 

Upon retiring from the office of Governor he resumed 
the practice of his profession at Portland. He was at once 
retained as counsel by many of the leading business interests 
of the State, and tried before the courts many important 
cases, being general counsel for the Maine Central Railroad 
Company, of the Portland National Bank, and associate 

47 



counsel of the Boston and Maine Railroad, and attorney for 
various other business and financial interests. The most 
notable case ever tried in the State, and one that excited 
much interest throughout the country, vras the Chandler will 
case, in which Governor Cleaves appeared as senior counsel 
for the heirs. The American Board of Commissioners for 
Foreign Missions, under a will executed by the testator, 
claimed the entire estate, nearly a million dollars, while it 
was claimed in behalf of the heirs that they were entitled to 
one-half of the estate by a subsequent codicil of the testator, 
though it was executed while he was under guardianship. 
The contention of Governor Cleaves was sustained by the 
Supreme Court of Maine and the validity of the codicil 
upheld. 

Governor Cleaves is intimately connected with many 
of the great business interests of the State, being a Director 
of the Maine Central Railroad Company, the Portland Ter- 
minal Company, Union Mutual Life Insurance Company, 
Portland National Bank, Union Safe Deposit and Trust 
Company, Consolidated Electric Light Company, and asso- 
ciated with other financial and business institutions. 

As a prominent member of the Loyal Legion, the 
Grand Army of the Republic and the Maine Veteran Asso- 
ciation, and in his professional practice as well as in all 
matters pertaining to the assistance of his old comrades in 
arms, Governor Cleaves has always shown a deep and abid- 
ing friendship for the defenders of his country — a friend- 
ship of which every soldier, in this or other commonwealths, 
who knows him, or knows of him, is personally proud. 



48 



